Chapter 356: A Visit to Learn

The old village secretary quickly received notice from the security team that someone from the commune was visiting. He immediately put down his work and rushed to the village entrance, afraid of showing the slightest neglect to a leader from the commune.

A journey that would normally take over ten minutes was hurriedly completed by the old village secretary in just five.

Arriving at the village entrance, the old secretary quickly stepped forward and greeted him, “Hello, comrade!”

“Hello, Secretary!”

Lin Guohuai had heard beforehand about the two figures in Zhoujiazhuang: the old village secretary and Zhou Yimin. The person before him was clearly held in high esteem by the villagers, so if he wasn’t Zhou Yimin, then he must be the old secretary.

Judging by the man’s age, it was obvious he was the old secretary.

“Comrade, is there some directive from the commune?” the old secretary asked.

“Secretary, you can just call me Xiao Lin.”

“It’s nothing serious, actually. Director Huang from the commune sent me here. We heard the chickens raised in your village are particularly large and healthy. I came to see if your village’s breeding methods could be promoted elsewhere.”

Upon hearing this, the old secretary understood the purpose of the visit.

In fact, the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang didn’t quite understand themselves why the chickens this time had turned out so well—not only was the hatch rate shockingly high, but every single chicken had grown to an impressive size.

They figured it must be due to the feed Zhou Yimin had provided. The methods hadn’t changed, the only difference being the addition of a new type of feed.

This matter had already been strictly ordered to be kept confidential, so the old secretary wasn’t worried about the secret getting out.

“Of course, Xiao Lin. I’ll take you there right now.”

With that, the old secretary led Lin Guohuai to the chicken coop.

“This is where we raise our chickens. There’s really nothing special about it.”

At first glance, Lin Guohuai didn’t see anything remarkable. But in the distance, a particular structure for hatching eggs caught his attention. “Secretary, what’s that place for?”

Following Lin Guohuai’s pointing finger, the old secretary saw that it was the chick hatchery.

“That’s a facility Yimin specially built for hatching chicks.”

Lin Guohuai immediately became interested and asked, “Secretary, can I take a look?”

He was worried it might be some kind of “secret” that they wouldn’t let outsiders see.

That kind of thinking wasn’t uncommon—after all, there’s an old saying: Teaching an apprentice starves the master. It means that if a master passes on all his skills, the apprentice might outshine him and take his livelihood.

Hence, “keeping a trick up one’s sleeve” is often used to describe deliberately withholding key knowledge to protect one’s own interests.

But the old secretary didn’t hesitate. “Of course you can!”

It wasn’t something complicated. Anyone with some knowledge of the field could probably figure it out with a quick glance at the structure and its working principles.

The old secretary’s openness surprised Lin Guohuai a little, but he still went over to take a closer look.

They quickly arrived at the hatchery. From a distance, it looked somewhat intriguing, but up close it didn’t seem particularly special—until he noticed the hot water pipes inside.

He reached out to touch one and immediately pulled his hand back when it scalded him.

So it was using hot water to regulate the temperature inside the hatchery.

As is known, hens need stable temperatures to hatch chicks properly. Some “diligent” hens can sit motionless in the nest for long periods, only occasionally leaving to eat, drink, or relieve themselves.

But other, less “diligent” hens might frequently leave the nest. If the eggs cool down too often, they’ll eventually spoil. The success rate drops significantly.

“Can’t believe such a simple thing wasn’t made before,” Lin Guohuai murmured to himself.

If this chick hatchery could be promoted elsewhere, the trip would be well worth it.

“Secretary, what’s the hatch rate like for this setup?”

The question stumped the old secretary for a moment.

“Xiao Lin, wait here a moment. I’ll get someone who can answer that better than me.”

With that, he went to find Zhou Zhiming.

Zhou Zhiming was working nearby.

In no time, the old secretary found him. “Zhiming, come with me for a bit?”

Zhou Zhiming nodded and followed the old secretary to the hatchery, where he saw a stranger standing at the entrance.

He figured this person must be the reason he’d been called over.

The old secretary introduced them, “Xiao Lin, this is Zhou Zhiming, who’s in charge of the chick hatchery. If you have questions, he can answer them. I’m old now and can’t quite keep up with young people’s thinking.”

“Zhiming, this is Lin Guohuai, the commune’s livestock technician.”

“Hello, Technician Lin!” Zhou Zhiming greeted him.

Lin Guohuai got straight to the point, “Hello, Comrade Zhou Zhiming. I’d like to ask—what’s the success rate of this hatchery?”

“Generally over ninety percent,” Zhou Zhiming replied without hesitation.

Lin Guohuai was stunned. A success rate that high? Most hatcheries barely manage fifty percent.

“What about the temperature settings in this chick hatchery?”

To ensure he wouldn’t forget, he pulled out paper and pen to take notes on everything Zhou Zhiming said.

Zhou Zhiming then repeated exactly what Zhou Yimin had initially taught him.

“At the early stage, the temperature should be maintained at 38.5°C. At this point, the embryo’s metabolism is still low, and it generates little heat, so a slightly higher temperature is needed to stimulate development.”

“In the middle stage, the temperature should be adjusted to 38°C. As the embryo develops, it begins generating some heat on its own, so external heat should be slightly reduced.”

“In the later stage, the temperature should be lowered to between 37.3°C and 37.5°C. At this stage, the embryo undergoes intense fat metabolism and needs to release the heat it produces. Too high a temperature can trap heat, leading to embryo poisoning or suffocation inside the shell.”

Lin Guohuai was like a student listening intently to a lecture, afraid to miss a single detail, frantically taking notes. It was a perfect example of the saying, A good memory is no match for a worn-out pen.

The old secretary hadn’t expected such a seemingly simple hatchery to involve so much technical knowledge. Clearly, it made sense to leave more tasks to the younger generation.

Otherwise, there was no way he could remember all that, let alone recite it word for word like Zhou Zhiming.

Lin Guohuai continued to ask a few more questions about the hatchery.

Zhou Zhiming answered them all smoothly. Although Zhou Yimin hadn’t taught him everything, he had learned a lot through hands-on experience over time.

As expected, practice really is the only true test of success.

Some people might talk a big game in theory, but once they try it in real life, they’re all over the place.

(End of Chapter)